Death Wish
by HarvestBeauty
Summary: Larry becomes concerned about Mr Furley. Ficlet.


_A/N: Is it just me, or does Mr Furley show a lot of signs of being a depressed person? Makes me sad. :(_

Mr Furley jumped a mile as Larry jumped down the stairs, landing hard on the pavement in front of his apartment door. The shock of it all caused him to drop his mail onto the ground. Furley rolled his eyes, sighing irritably. Larry had whizzed past him in a blur, but he stopped and turned to face Furley, laughing with an apologetic look on his face.

"Oops! Sorry, RF!" Larry grinned at him. He bent down and scooped up the envelopes that Furley had dropped with ease, handing them to him. "Didn't mean to scare you, there!"

Furley grumbled, taking the mail from him.

"Where are you off to?" Furley asked Larry, although the dark red tracksuit that Larry was dressed in and the fact that he was now starting to run in place should have clued him in.

"I'm going on a run!" Larry informed him cheerfully.

"Well, you ought to be more careful running down the stairs like that. Scared the living daylights out of me!" Furley scolded him. He turned to go into his apartment, quietly muttering to himself as an afterthought. "Of course, after the way things have been lately, I wouldn't mind being scared to death. Sometimes I think I'd be better off dead, anyway..."

Furley put his hand on his doorknob, ready to twist it in order to open his door.

"_Hey_!" Larry's voice called to him harshly, causing him to stop in his tracks. Had he not known it was Larry talking to him, he would not have recognized him at all because there was an edge to his tone that he had never heard before. Slowly, the landlord turned to face Larry. Larry had stopped moving and he was just standing still now. He was regarding the older man with a glare, his eyes bright with anger. Furley's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"What's the matter with _you_?!" Furley asked him, startled. He'd never seen Larry angry before.

Furley's shock seemed to deflate Larry's anger toward him almost instantly. Larry let out a deep sigh and ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, it's just...I hate it when people talk like that." Larry muttered, low and quiet.

"Oh, it's just an expression. I didn't mean anything by it..." Furley tried to wave him off.

"Well, it's an expression that I _hate_!" Larry insisted, crossing his arms over his chest. He paused, before continuing in a softer tone. "Are you okay? Do you want me to call someone, or-?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Furley scoffed. "Go on your run. I'm fine."

"Are you _sure_?" Larry prodded.

"Yes, now go on." Furley tried to brush him off once again.

Larry just stared at him for the longest time and Furley uneasily held his gaze. The two men were in a silent stand off. After a few moments, Larry finally came to a decision.

"You know what? You're coming with me." Larry said, determined.

"Me? Go on a run? You're crazy!" Furley protested.

"I'll go slow." Larry offered.

"No way!" Furley shook his head. "I'm not going!"

"Oh, yes you are. I'm not leaving this spot without you. I'm just going to hang outside of your apartment all damned day if I have to until you change your mind." Larry resolved.

Furley's mouth dropped open in shock at the younger man's statement.

"Are you kidding me?" He asked him, exasperated.

"Nope." Larry stated simply. A sly smirk came to his face. "You'll have fun, I promise. You know, the jogging trail is a really great place to meet women. I myself have met many while going on a run."

"Really?" Furley's eyes gleamed with interest.

"Yup!" Larry nodded, his face now breaking into a full fledged smile.

"Oh, what the hell? Why not?" Furley finally gave in, sighing. "I'll be ready in two shakes of a lamb's tail."

Furley disappeared into his apartment, while Larry sighed in relief. A few minutes later, Furley re-emerged from his apartment dressed in extremely loud, clownish work out clothes. Larry snickered at the sight...there was no way anyone could miss them on the trail. They were now going to be visible from a mile away.

"Ready to go?" Furley asked him, a goofy and eager smile on his face.

"You bet, Mr Furley!" Larry grinned at him.

Together, landlord and tenant took off to see what kind of action they could rustle up.

THE END


End file.
